What always ends everything? It’s a simple question that causes you to think. What do I mean by this? I mean what I say. What always ends everything? Not only is the question simple, the answer is as well.
What is it here that you see?
I would guarantee that your answer is a frog, and if I’m being honest that’s my answer as well. It’s a drawing of a frog plain and simple. Our world view that we hold is all matter of perspective. If you’re born into a Christian home in America it’s likely that you still hold those ideals even today, and if you don’t; the moral compass in which you operate is still very much the same just possibly not for religious reasons. If you are born into an Amazonian tribe with no access to the western world your moral compass will operate as your culture does. Death could be more common, murder might be a plausible and likely way to solve a dispute, the food you eat would be very different. You’re entire world view would be significantly changed when compared to one another side by side. It’s all perspective.
Now what if I told you there’s another animal in this drawing? Now if you haven’t seen this before you would be quite confused. But again. It’s simple. It’s all about perspective. Turn your head to the right 90 degrees and look at the picture again. Now what do you see? Another animal I presume, this time being a horse. What once was a frog has now become a horse and all it took was a perspective change to truly grasp and understand what I said when I stated that there is another animal in the drawing. Simple. But you have to know what perspective to take. Until you have the final answer the solution is much more complicated at first thought.
Paul wrote a letter as he was facing death to his spiritual son Timothy. He wrote “Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David: this is my Gospel.” 2nd Timothy 2:8
That’s Paul’s gospel and our own. That’s THE gospel. Jesus Christ raised from the dead. Simple.
I’ve always overcomplicated things, and sometimes the Lord brings us back to what it’s all about. When I was in Myanmar I was teaching English to students at a Bible College. This Bible College wasn’t your conventional school. There were open walls, squatty potties for bathrooms, I slept on a piece of wood for the month, I got my shower from a bucket of water, and yet I learned so much from that humble place. Many of the student’s English was enough to have a short conversation about what they enjoy, their family, hobbies, what job they want to do when they graduate, and we also could ask them their favorite Bible verses. Beyond that communication was scarce, but one thing I found that surprised me. Every time I asked a student what their favorite Bible verse was I would often times get John 3:16. At first I just thought this was because they didn’t know a lot about the Bible, but that wasn’t the case. They read their Bibles every day and studied it and were knowledgable about the word of God. But almost every single student’s favorite verse was John 3:16. I began to get frustrated day after day as I would ask more students and they would give me the same answer. Everyone knows that verse right? It’s the most common verse EVER. Heck, even if American’s aren’t Christian they probably know what that verse is. It’s used time and time again, and that’s what frustrated. How can someone that knows the Bible so well choose such a basic and well-known verse as their favorite in ALL the Bible?! There’s so many good things in James, and the Corinthians, and of course anywhere at all in the gospels, Isaiah has GOLD, or even the Psalms… but why John 3:16? And as selfish as it sounds I got ANGRY. It just seemed to basic for me. You need to pick another verse to TRULY be a Christian. You can’t pick a verse that the whole world knows. This anger built up over a week and a half or so. I asked one of my friends what he likes in the Bible and his answer. You guessed it. John 3:16. I was ticked. I pretended not to really think anything about it, but my mind was all over the place. Then I felt anger like I have never felt before. But it wasn’t my own. I heard it in my own head.
“HOW DARE YOU.”
“YOU DON’T GET IT, THEY DO.”
“READ IT AGAIN.”
I knew this was the Lord. And he was mad. He was mad at my pointless anger for something that was so silly. All of a sudden the weight of my judgment hit me like a ton of bricks. I opened up my Bible then and there and read through John 3:16.
For God so loved the world.
That he sent his one and only Son.
That whoever believes in Him.
Shall not perish, but have eternal life.
I’d never read that verse like that before. I realized what was wrong. I had shunned that verse because it was popular. But it’s popular for a reason. Why shouldn’t it be my favorite verse? It embodies the very core of what we believe. The eternal, almighty, powerful, judge, the creator of all things loves us. Do you know how many times we’ve broken his heart? Every single time we sin, he is in pain because we are choosing to turn our back on him. Can you imagine having children that choose to turn their back on you every single day. As human’s that get’s tiring. Yes parents will ALWAYS love their children. But can you imagine it happening every single day, sometimes even several times a day. That God loves us. Even though we break his heart. We don’t deserve his love, but we get it. Not only that, but he sent HIS kid. His son. He understood the pain he was going to face. Not just the physical pain of dying but the spiritual agony of taking our sins on his shoulders. That sin is separation from God. Jesus took that on himself. God loved us THAT much. That he sent his son. We have to believe in him and then we have eternal life. Is it that simple? Yes. We overcomplicate it. I’d been doing that my whole life. I’ve overcomplicated the gospel. It becomes so normal to us having grown up in the church. My world view and perspective is simply that God sent his son to die for me. But I’d never read that or understand the simplicity and pure beauty of that statement.
1 Corinthians 15:3-6 says “Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures…. he was buried… the third day he rose again from the dead, according to the Scriptures.”
Romans 4:25 says “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification”
Isaiah 53:5 says “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed”
Romans 5:8 says “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”
Mark 10:45 says “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and give his life as ransom for many”
John 3:16 says “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
These are the basics. It’s simple. No matter my worldview. No matter my perspective. The truth is the gospel is simple. I was overcomplicating it, but the Lord convicted me on that day to truly understand and grasp what it means to be a Christian. This isn’t to say being one will be easy, in fact far from it. I will be persecuted, many die for their faith every day, I will be judged, I may be scoffed at, I will suffer just as anyone else does. But I can confidently live my life knowing and having faith in the idea of the gospel. I have been falling deeper in love with the Lord each day as I have been on the race and it has been a beautiful journey to fall in love with my savior. But this isn’t about falling in love with him, this is what the whole Bible is about. Let’s not overcomplicate it.
The letter g is what ends everything. See, what did I tell you. Simple.
